The Price of Redemption
by Jozua
Summary: Another side to the story of one bat-like professor and his young charge. OC/OC and lots of Snape being awesome that runs tangentially, but does not interfere with the Harry Potter story line.


**Alexis Prince and the Price of Redemption**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own nor do I claim any rights or privileges to the original Harry Potter characters, plot designs, etc. created by J.K. Rowling.

**Parental Advisory Warning: **This fanfiction has been self-rated by the author as **PG-13** for violence, mild language, and suggestive content. The content of this fanfiction may be found offensive by some, and is inappropriate for readers under the age of 13. Reader discretion is advised.

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><p>Chapter One – Rain<p>

To most of the world, Annie and Vincent Martin seemed to be a very normal couple who did normal things, lived in a normal house in a normal town, and together with their youngest child, Amelia, made a normal family. Almost everyone who knew the Martins thought of them as wonderfully normal people who simply had the misfortune of having one terribly abnormal child. At age eleven, Hannah Martin's lanky body towered over the other children at St. Augustine's Primary School, the crown-jewel of Catholicism in Essexville, Michigan. Hannah, unlike Amelia, whose ruddy complexion and boisterous humor made her the favorite of relatives and strangers alike, was a darkly ethereal child, with intense mahogany eyes and seemingly sentient black hair. Hannah, also unlike Amelia, was an honor student at St. Augustine's and was often chosen by Father Alejandro to sing solo on special occasions, despite having left the choir some years before. If simply described by her academic and vocal prowess, one might have expected Hannah Martin to be a much-loved child, but this was not the case for neither her darkness nor her eccentricities pleased her parents, and even worse to them, was their eldest child's desire to be seen as a boy.

Hannah often came home from school with cuts and bruises, wounds that the Martin's had simply learned to ignore unless pressed for attention at which point, condemnation of their child rather than her attackers quickly ensued. It was after one such session of denunciation that Hannah once again curled up in a corner of her darkened room and violent, silent sobs shook her feral form. It was raining again… It always rained when Hannah cried and she knew it. As the storm outside slowly waned with Hannah's drying tears, a loud rap on the door echoed about the house.

His name was Severus Snape, and he had come to bring Hannah to a place in Britain called Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry; Hannah, as it turned out, was a wizard. Vincent and Annie Martin were severely displeased to discover that their already 'problematic' child had magical talents, and they despised the bat-like man who had brought them the news. Hannah, on the other hand, was in awe of him.

"What do you teach?" She asked excitedly, earning a scowl from the man whom she'd interrupted.

"I teach Potions. I am also the head of Slytherin House…" he said in an annoyed tone.

"Slytherin House?" Hannah asked with a raised eyebrow. Snape smirked at the child's curiosity.

"There are four houses at Hogwarts, each overseen by a faculty member. They, like the faculty and the witches and wizards whom they were named after, have specific attributes associated with each. You will find that there is considerable rivalry, particularly between my own house and Gryffindor…" Hannah noticed how he practically spat the last word, and quickly decided that she did NOT want to be in Gryffindor.

"So, I'll be in Slytherin, right?" Silently, Snape admitted to himself that this particular child wasn't quite as annoying as most of his students.

"I don't know. You'll be placed in your house via a sorting hat… a rather arcane tradition at Hogwarts, unfortunately." _Did he say 'hat?'_ Hannah wondered but said nothing, instead pondering this new information.

"But if I ask the hat to place me in Slytherin, will it?"

"Perhaps… One student was placed in Gryffindor last year after asking to not be placed in Slytherin." Hannah could sense a complex array of anger and sadness flicker from him and then die. _You are just as lonely and tumultuous as I am_, Hannah thought.

"I'll be in Slytherin, then" she said resolutely, earning a smirk from the potions master.

Mr. and Mrs. Martin declined to accompany Hannah to Diagon Alley in order to purchase school supplies; in fact, other than providing the appropriate funding for fear of the dark man who'd easily healed Hannah's newest injuries, they wanted no part of the new adventure their child was embarking upon. And so, Hannah left with Severus Snape and soon found herself standing nearby a bank, trying desperately not to vomit.

"What… was… that?"

"Apparition, technically, I'm not supposed to apparate with students but time was of the essence."

Hannah doubled over against a wall, shutting her eyes to the swirling world.

"Pull yourself together." Snape commanded, pulling the child up and half-dragging her into Gringotts.

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><p>Severus Snape glared at onlookers as he accompanied his young charge to the various shops for school supplies; however, he was finding it increasingly difficult to glare at the child who would occasionally glance up at him with a sort of wonder one might expect if he were Nicholas Flamel. At last, they arrived outside of Madame Malkin's Shop and a distressed look twisted Hannah's face. <em>HOW COULD SHE HAVE FORGOTTEN UNIFORMS<em>!?

"Professor, how… strict is Hogwarts about uniforms?" she barely whispered. For a moment, Snape contemplated the child, realizing that she would surely be ostracized. Without further delay, he seized her wrist and walked quickly into the storefront, where the very surprised shopkeeper greeted them.

"Professor Snape, to what do I owe this unexpected visit?" The portly woman asked. Finally, Snape released Hannah, motioning to her.

"This boy needs to get his robes" he said sharply. Hannah looked at him but his gaze was fixed on Madame Malkin who was unconvinced by the child's long lashes and shoulder-length hair but wasn't about to argue with a former Death Eater.

"Um… Alright dear, come with me…" she stuttered, inviting Hannah into the back. Hannah, without warning, handed her crated black cat to the gloomy potions master and ducked into the back.

There was a girl already being measured in the back of the shop, and she was the most beautiful thing Hannah had ever seen; her warm brown eyes seemed to tease Hannah's battered soul, and her dark, red hair fell in fiery waves around her face. She winked when she saw Hannah staring, and the latter's heartbeat pulsed like that of a dragon. _Who is she_?

"Vera…" came a high, slightly husky voice.

"Excuse me?"

"My _name_ is Vera Costa; you were wondering, right?" Hannah flushed brightly.

"Yes…"

"I'm a third year in Slytherin House" Vera said, holding up her silken hair so that Madame Malkin's daughter could measure her neck. Hannah absent-mindedly mimicked this action when prompted by the elder Malkin woman.

"It's my first time… TO HOGWARTS, I MEAN!" Vera smiled mischievously.

"I'm going to ask the hat to put me in Slytherin, though…"

"Aren't you a relative of Professor Snape? You're certain to be in Slytherin!" Madame Malkin concluded.


End file.
